Role of Human Emotions in Unusual Behavior: The Hercules Twelve Labors

English 205 Research Project Proposal
The proposal is a very brief of essay 350 words that briefly explains the research project’s topic and your purpose in researching and writing it. This proposal is both a plan and a justification for what you hope to accomplish with the project. When I say "justification" I think that you are justifying its significance as much for your own peace of mind as you are for me, your professor. In it, you should simply try to explain why you believe the topic and your proposed purpose will be interesting and worthwhile investigation of myth and its significance to you and your identity. By the time you are done, you should feel fairly confident that you have a good chosen both a good topic and purpose for your mythology research paper. Also, make sure it is clear how your proposal relates to one of the 4 options in the assignment or if it is a variant that you would like me to consider approving.
Note that you should take a position on the topic you choose. Stating a general topic area is not enough.
The proposal should have five parts to it:
1. A focused explanation of the research project (introduction).
2. A proposed stance (position) on the issue (hypothesis).*
3. A presentation of the significance and scope of the stance (body paragraph(s)).
4. A tentative research plan (one separate body paragraph). This should include sources--at least 3 sources -- substantial, already located and read (or skimmed effectively), and should include an evaluation of those sources and their expected uses. These sources must include a valid version of the myth(s) you intend to focus on.
5. A short conclusion.
*Realize that this might change somewhat or quite a bit as you do more reading and learn more about the topic.
Introduce your topic in a few sentences. This should help to provide important background information introduce the hypothesis, including why you chose this topic (how it relates to your and now it resonates with you). It should also include information about the origins and major characteristics of the manuscript, version, and authors of the myth(s). It should be clear which option you have chosen.
The hypothesis should be clearly marked, and should be one clear sentence that explains your stance on the proposed project topic (at the end of the introduction).
The body of the essay should include both a defense/explanation of the hypothesis and (perhaps) a plan for the research and structure of the paper. This body section should take 1-3 paragraphs.
The research plan should include sources already found. After identifying and evaluating current sources, you should detail a plan to find new sources to fill out your research.
Then sum it all up in a short conclusion (one paragraph).
After this you will find a sample of a complete proposal and the beginning of another one. Note that you should turn in a complete proposal by the due date.